Dulcie
by Geek-Chic99
Summary: "Peter recognised her at once, it was the women from the future. The one from his dream." This is my idea for a new character, takes place in s.3, so spoilers for the whole season. I suck at summaries. Review.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first FanFic ever, so reviews are greatly appreciated! Don't be afraid to tell me where I messed up or if I just plain suck! ;) So this first chapter sort of sets everything up and it takes place during season 3. This chapter starts at "I Am Become Death" and ends around "Dying of the Light". The main point of this story is I had this random idea for a new character. I suck at summaries so I'll just get to the story:

Ch.1- Dream Girl

Peter hesitated at the door. Was he really about to do this? Face Sylar, take his power? Did anything make sense anymore?

_This is all so crazy, I can't believe I just watched Claire kill me, what happened to her? What made her turn out this way?, _Peter's thoughts where running a mile a minute, _and Mohinder, what has he become? What has the world become? Everyone having powers… all the violence and chaos…_

Peter tried to wrap his head around it all, but the more he thought about it, the more overwhelmed he became. Was it really only days since he was standing next to his brother when the shots ran out? Everything had gone so wrong so fast, and he didn't know how to fix it. Watching his future self being shot down by his own niece really was just the adding insult to injury.

But this wasn't the time for second-guessing, he reached for the doorknob and lit his hands. He stepped into the doorway, and saw that it was clear. He sighed in relief, but kept moving forward. Sylar was here somewhere, he could feel it.

Suddenly he heard light footsteps running down the stairs, he got a glimpse of the fair-haired boy and extinguished his hands.

"Hey uncle Peter! Dad's making waffles!" the boy said.

_Uncle Peter? _

This didn't make any sense. He followed the boy into the kitchen and saw Sylar. In an apron. Cooking waffles.

"What's up champ? How you doing man?" Sylar greeted the boy with a warm smile, and gave Mr. Muggles small piece of waffle.

_This can't be happening_, Peter thought, _this isn't real. This can't be real. He's a monster, a killer! _

Sylar looked up and noticed Peter standing in shock.

"Peter! It's so good to see you!" Sylar exclaimed. He walked across the room and gave Peter a warm hug

"I haven't seen you in so long! If you'd told me you were coming, I would have made extra!" Sylar chuckled and turned back to the kitchen.

_This isn't possible, this… this just can't be happening. This is all to messed up, Claire becomes a killer, and Sylar…this isn't possible. This doesn't make any sense…_

Peter knew he should say something, anything, but no words came. What could he possibly say? He was barely able to pay keep his attention on what Sylar and his son where saying. Something about a magic word and syrup, he heard it all but none of it registered. He was vaguely aware that he had walked up to the table, but all he could do was stare. This was all to crazy!

"Where's your scar uncle Peter?"

Peter felt his heart skip as the boy said these words. He looked at the boys confusion and saw Sylar's look of realization.

_Oh shit, _Peter thought.

"You know what, grown-ups need to have a little chat in the other room." Sylar said to the boy.

Peter could feel his heart racing, was he going to kill him? Not with the boy in the other room! But this was Sylar, or at least, he thought it was.

"We're just gonna be in the other room alright?" Sylar shot Peter a look and he followed him into the den. There where toys and art supplies everywhere, this was the last thing he expected Sylar's house to look like.

Sylar gave the boy a smile as he closed the door, then turned to Peter with a grim look on his face.

"You're not from around here are you?" Sylar asked. He stepped forward and Peter drew back, this was still Sylar after all. "No scar, the past right? Which means to you, I'm the boogieman."

Sylar chuckled at this and sat down.

"It's a hell of a thing, you coming here to find out that you and I are brothers."

Peter felt like his head was going to explode. His whole world was turning around and a million questions came to mind. _How? Why? This can't be…_

"Brothers?" Peter croaked.

Nothing made sense anymore, but that wasn't important right now, he had come for Sylar's power, and he wasn't leaving without it.

"I'm sorry that you came all this way Peter, but I can't help you…" Sylar said.

"Can't?" Peter sneered.

"Won't." Sylar replied.

"Why?" Peter demanded.

Sylar opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by a load crash from the kitchen and the little boy's scream.

"DADDY!"

"NOAH!" Sylar yelled, he jumped up and ran back into the kitchen with Peter right behind him.

They burst through the doors and saw four figures dressed in black, a man and three women. Peter felt a cold pit in his stomach as he recognized Claire and Knox to be two of them. The other two were a short, thin women with white hair, who had Noah by the arm, and a curvier women with long, dark, almost black hair, pale skin, and piercing blue eyes.

"Your coming with us Peter" Claire sneered, "it's time to end this."

"Let Noah go!" Sylar demanded.

"Oh, we will" said the white haired women, "as soon as Peter comes with us. This is all in your hands Peter, if you come with us then we let the boy go and nobody gets hurt."

"Except for you" said the dark haired women with a grin. Knox shot her a knowing smile and Peter didn't want to know what they had planned.

"I'll kill you!" Sylar growled, "if you try to hurt him I swear to god I'll-"

"Shut up!" Knox snapped, "we don't have time for this, Daphne, get him."

Peter felt the hit before he could even register what was happening. The white haired women threw him into the wall and he cried out in shock and in pain as he felt his rib crack. He staggered to his feet, but before he could even steady himself he was flying through the air again. She was moving to fast, he couldn't even see her. He hit the floor with a loud thud. He glanced around wildly, trying to see where she was. He heard a crack as he felt a hard blow delivered to the back of his head with the handle of her gun. He flew forward and hit the wall. Peter pushed off the wall and spun around to face her and caught a glimpse of her white hair heading towards him. He reached out his hand just in time and zapped her as she made contacted. He heard her cry out in shock as she fell to the floor. He grabbed her gun from her hand and with one hard hit knocked her out.

Peter turned back to the chaos in the kitchen, Sylar was being beaten by Knox and the Claire and the dark haired women had Noah. Peter raised his hand and used his power to throw Knox across the room into the wall. Sylar looked up in shock, but once he saw it was Peter's doing he shot him a grateful look before turning towards Claire and the other women.

"Let him go!" Sylar yelled as he lunged for the dark haired women. He made contact with her and instantly let out a scream or agony. Sylar fell to the floor with a terrified look on his face as the dark haired women and Claire smiled. Peter aimed the gun at the dark haired women, but hesitated to pull the trigger. Knox took advantage of this and came up behind Peter and grabbed the gun from his hand.

Claire let the boy go as she grabbed her gun and Noah ran forward to his father.

"DADDY!" he screamed.

"NOAH! RUN!" Sylar yelled. He got up and tried to lung at Knox.

Knox kicked Sylar across the room. Sylar smashed into the kitchen table and they both flew across the room. Peter saw with horror that he was headed straight for Noah.

"NO!" Peter screamed and lunged forward, but it was too late. With a sickening crack the table struck Noah hard.

Sylar rolled over, and suddenly a look of terror was on his face as he realized everyone in the room was staring behind him in shock. He turned around and saw Noah's body. A strangled sob came from Sylar's throat as he reached forward to hug his son's corpse.

"Noah..no,no,no, please." Sylar wailed. He looked at Knox with hatred in his eyes. "You…killed him. YOU KILLED NOAH!" he roared.

"Shit!" the dark haired women yelled. "his hands!"

Peter looked at Sylar's hands and saw they where glowing a fierce orange and it was quickly spreading all over his body as his rage grew. The white haired woman had just regained consciousness and staggered into the room. She screamed when she saw Sylar was about to go nuclear.

"STOP HIM!" Claire screamed.

Both Peter and the white haired woman ran forward, but he knew they were too late, the light was already blinding and Sylar was loosing control. Peter closed his eyes against the light as he staggered forward.

"Sylar NO!" he screamed as the deafening boom rang out.

And suddenly there was silence.

Peter opened he's eyes in shock. He was back at the company, back to the right time. He must have teleported.

_I can still stop it,_ he though,_ I can still change the future._

He suddenly realized that he was in a level 5 cell, and Sylar was staring straight at him.

"Peter." Sylar said, not a question, just a statement. He looked shocked to see him.

Peter felt his blood run cold and he staggered back. He quickly shut he's eyes and teleported out of the cell. When he opened his eyes he saw he was on the other side of the glass, and to his surprise Sylar hadn't moved an inch. He was still just sitting there, staring at him.

"Hello brother." Sylar sang out with an evil smirk on his face.

"no.." Peter whispered.

_This isn't possible. _Peter thought, _it can't be true._

"It's not true…" Peter begged.

"It's true Peter, turns out we're one, big, happy family." Sylar chuckled.

"Shut up!" Peter yelled, "you are NOT my family!"

"But he is Peter."

Peter spun around at the sound of his mother's voice. She was standing a few feet behind him, looking completely calm and collected.

"Mom? But, how is this possible?" Peter stuttered, "How-"

"I know you have a lot of questions," Angela cut him off mid-sentence, "and I will do my best to answer them when the time comes, but right now we have work to do."

She walked up to the door of Sylar's cell and punched in a code. She opened the door and walked in.

"Mom, no!" Peter yelled.

"It's alright Peter," she said, never taking her eyes off Sylar, "Gabrielle won't hurt me."

She placed a loving hand on Sylar's cheek and Peter thought he would be sick.

"What do you need us to do?" Sylar asked her.

"Right now, I just need you to be ready." Angela replied, "I need to dream, and once I have I will know what needs to be done. Gabrielle, get changed out of those clothes, and Peter, you need to rest."

Peter just nodded his head, there were so many things he wanted to say, but right now he just didn't have the energy. He turned away from his mother and his…brother. Would he ever get used to that? He walked down the corridor away from Level 5 and found an empty room with a hospital bed.

….

_Peter was running down a long corridor past science labs and elevators. He looked up and saw that Sylar was running too. He was ahead of Peter and glanced back with a panicked look. _

_"Keep going!" Sylar yelled, "We're almost out!"_

_Sylar disappeared around the corner. Peter ran after him, but stopped abruptly. Sylar had stopped just before the exit, and Peter could see why. There was a woman blocking the exit. She had long dark hair and scared blue eyes. She looked nervous, but determined. Peter recognized her immediately; it was the woman from the future. _

_"I can't let you leave." She yelled._

_She raised her hand towards Sylar and he dropped to the ground, screaming in agony. She turned to Peter and raised her hand again. _

_"I'm sorry" she said._

_"No!" Peter screamed._

…

"Peter, PETER! Wake up!"

Peter jolted awake and saw Sylar standing over him. He jumped off the bed and raised his hand, ready to fight.

"I'm not going to hurt you Peter!" Sylar said, he had a panicked look in his eye.

"Then what do you want?" Peter asked.

"It's..it's mom." Sylar stuttered. "There's something wrong with her."

"What? Where is she?" Peter demanded.

Peter followed Sylar to another room with a hospital bed. His mother was lying on the bed, eyes wide but unseeing. He rushed to her side and grabbed her arm.

"Mom! Mom wake up!" Peter shook her arm as he desperately tried to wake her.

"You think I haven't tried that?" Sylar was by his side now and placed his hand over Angela's. "She won't wake up. I don't know what to do." He said.

Peter stared at the killer in shock. "You actually care about her, don't you?"

Sylar glared at him before returning his gaze to Angela.

"Of course I do! She's my mother too Peter." Sylar sighed.

_I can't believe this, has he actually changed?_ Peter wondered. _He's really my brother, my family?_

"Peter you have to look inside her head, find out what's happening to her!" Sylar begged.

Peter stared at Sylar in shock before nodding he's head. He took a deep breath and plunged into his mother's mind.

The shock of what happened next hit him hard. He had never encountered so much resistance before. It was like trying to paddle up a raging river. He tried to focus on something, but the harder he pushed in the more resistance he encountered. His head felt like it would explode and his whole body hurt from the effort, but he wouldn't give up. With one last try he put all his energy towards breaking down the resistance. For a brief moment he saw a symbol flash before his eyes before he was thrown out of his mother's mind.

Peter gasped for air and staggered backwards.

"Peter! Are you ok?" Sylar rushed forwards "What did you see?"

Peter looked around wildly. It took him a second to regain his balance. He looked down and at the table near his mother's bed and snatch up a pen and her chart. He drew the symbol he'd seen in his mother's mind and showed it to Sylar.

"I don't understand what it means." Peter said, "but it was all I was able to see. I've seen this symbol somewhere before…"

"So have I.." Sylar pulled a business card out of his pocket and showed it to Peter.

"Pineherst?" Peter read the card, but he was as confused as ever. "I need to go there and find out who's doing this to mom."

"WE need to go there" Sylar corrected.

"No. I'll do this alone." Peter was disgusted at the idea of working with a monster.

"You still don't trust me, do you Peter?" Sylar sighed.

"You've given me no reason to. I don't care if you are my brother, you're a killer!" Peter spat.

Sylar sighed, and to Peter's shocked, actually looked sad.

_Could he really be telling the truth? _Peter wondered, _he WAS different in the future. Maybe he's really trying to change._

"Please Peter, I just found my mother, I can't lose her!" Sylar turned to Peter with a desperate look in his eyes.

Peter sighed. "Fine." He said. "We'll go together, but don't think I won't kill you if you try anything funny!"

Peter reached out and put his hand on Sylar's shoulder, closed his eyes and teleported them to Pinehearst.

Sylar gasped in surprise.

"You could have given me a heads up!" he exclaimed.

"Look. Let's just get in there and find out what's happening to my…our mom, ok?" Peter sighed.

Sylar nodded in agreement as they opened the door and entered the facility. They walked over to the elevators and looked at the floor descriptions.

"Ok," Peter said, "Let's split up. I'll go to the top floor where the offices are, and you go to the 5th floor, that's where the labs are."

"I don't think we should split up" Sylar warned.

"This is the fastest way to do it, and we need to find out what's happening to mom fast before she gets worse."

Sylar glared at Peter, but Peter stood his ground and stared right back, finally Sylar sighed in defeat.

"Ok, fine." Sylar agreed.

Peter got in the elevator and he saw Sylar heading towards the stairs. He pressed the button for the top floor and waited as the elevator made it's slow assent.

_Maybe Sylar was right, _Peter thought, _I have no idea what I'm going to find. _

After what felt like an eternity the doors opened and Peter was on the top floor. There was only one door to go through, it was wooden and looked very expensive.

_This must be the main office. _Peter thought. _Whoever is running this place is right behind that door…_

Peter walked up to the door, but hesitated to open it. He leaned in and heard a few voices coming from inside. He took a deep breath and electrified his hands, ready for whatever he might find. He threw open the door and walked in.

The first thing he saw was Knox and Flint staring at him in shock. Then he recognized the white hired women and a short, pudgy man. Flint lit his hands and Peter readied himself for battle.

"It's ok" a familiar voice rang out, "he's my son."

Peter felt the shock hit him as the man turned around.

"Dad?"

"Peter."

"How is this possible…You're dead!" Peter exclaimed.

Flint and Knox were still ready to attack. Arthur put a reassuring hand on Knox's arm and they backed off. Peter watched as the father that , up until a few seconds ago, he'd thought was dead walked towards him. Suddenly the realization hit Peter.

"So, you're behind all this?" he asked, "you…you hurt mom?"

Peter didn't lower his hand; didn't let his guard down. This was all too surreal.

His father shrugged. "Like I say, we need to talk." he spread his arms out welcomingly, "Come give your father a hug."

Every instinct Peter had was telling him to run, to fight, to do anything besides give this man a hug. But looking into his father's eyes he realized he had missed him. They may not have gotten along, but they were family.

"It's alright Peter" Arthur smiled and stepped forward.

Peter lowered his hand and started to step forward when he heard someone behind him. He spun around and saw a woman standing in the doorway. Her mouth hung open and she looked both shocked and terrified at the same time. Peter recognized her instantly. It was the girl from the future, and from his dream.

"Poena, your late!" his father scolded.

"I-I-I…I'm so sorry Arthur..." the woman stuttered and tried to regain composure.

Peter went into her mind and heard one clear thought: _oh god, he's taking his own son's powers?_

Peter gasped and turned to face his father.

"You…you.." Peter had no idea what to say. He looked around wildly and saw the villains were all watching him nervously.

"Peter, come on now, give your father a-"

Before Arthur could finish his sentence Peter had pushed the woman into the wall as he used his speed to run to the stairwell and jump down to the fifth floor.

There was a moment of stunned silence before Arthur yelled: "FIFTH FLOOR! GET THEM! They don't leave this building!"

The Villains sprang into action and took off after Peter.

Meanwhile Peter was on the 5th floor and frantically looking for Sylar. He saw a

flash of white as Daphne sped towards him, but he was ready. Blue flames flew out from his hands and Daphne screeched to a halt a moment before hitting them. She hesitated for a split second, and Peter used his speed to grab her and fling her into the wall. He zapped her hard enough to knock her out, and then continued down the hall.

He rounded the corner and almost ran right into Sylar.

"We have to go!" Peter yelled. He reached out to grab Sylar's arm when suddenly Sylar yelled; "LOOK OUT!"

Peter and Sylar jumped apart just in time before they where hit by a wave of blue flames. They turned and saw Knox and Flint lunging towards them.

"RUN!" Peter yelled. He turned in time to see Sylar go flying into the wall. He ran towards him and pushed him to his feet.

Sylar started running down the hallway and Peter used his powers to throw Knox and Flint into the wall before turning to run after Sylar.

"There's an exit at the end of the hall!" Peter yelled.

Sylar glanced back to make sure Peter was still behind him.

"Keep going!" Sylar yelled, "We're almost out!"

Peter turned the last corner and stopped abruptly, the dark haired woman, Poena, was standing in the hall. She looked scared.

"I can't let you leave." She yelled.

She raised her hand towards Sylar and he dropped to the ground, screaming in agony. She turned to Peter and raised her hand again.

_My dream! _Peter thought

He raised his hand and used his powers to shock her. With cry of pain she went limp. He grabbed Sylar's arm and was about to teleport when he looked over at Poena.

_She was in my dream, _Peter thought, _that has to mean something. _

Peter heard shouts as the others were catching up to them and without thinking he grabbed onto the woman's arm as well and teleported.

To Be Continued…


	2. Chapter 2

So this chapter reviews the back story of the new character (Dulcie/Poena) and how she came to work for Pineherst. This part of the story takes place in Halifax, NS (Canada) where Dulcie is from.

Ch.2- In time gone by.

_-Four Months Ago-_

_Why did I come to this party?_ Dulcie wondered.

She wandered around with a vodka cooler in her hand, but was only taking sips. She didn't know anyone here. She didn't want to know them. These collage parties were all the same, a bunch of frat guys trying to get girls drunk so they'd be up for anything.

_Oh great, drunk girls table dancing. What a classy party._

She'd had enough. Parties weren't her thing anyways. She was to happy being alone, reading, watching her favorite shows and movies, or just thinking. Dulcie would just sit and think for hours at a time. The only reason she'd come to this party was because her mother had brought up the fact that she wasn't getting the full collage experience being alone all the time. So she decided to prove her wrong. Show her family she wasn't some loner freak.

_This was the worst idea I've ever had._

She put the cooler down on a table and started to make her way to the nearest exit. She had to step over more then a few passed out partiers. Finally she found the door and stepped outside. She sighed in relief as the cool air washed over her.

"Well, if it isn't Dulcie!" a drunken female voice slurred.

_Oh shit_. Dulcie thought. _It's Jenna._

Sure enough the short, blonde haired girl and some of her friends were standing only a few feet away.

"Why you leaving so soon Dulcie?" Jenna taunted, "Off to go read emo poetry or something? God you are so anti-social!"

Dulcie didn't say anything. What could she say? By anyone's definition she was pretty anti-social.

The started walking towards her and she felt her heart beat faster. She knew if it came to a fight she could hold her ground. She wasn't very athletic, in fact she avoided taking gym all through high school, but she was strong. The girls were surrounding her now.

"What do you want Jenna?" Dulcie sounded much more confident then she felt.

Jenna had made it clear when they first met over two years ago, that she didn't like Dulcie. She never gave a reason, but people have never really needed a reason to be horrible to each other.

"What do I want?" Jenna laughed. "I want to beat the crap outta you. You think you're better then me. You think you're better then everyone!"

Dulcie sighed. This wasn't the first time people had thought this about her. She was to shy to talk to people, but she didn't look the part of the 'shy girl', so people assumed she was just stuck up.

"I-I don't think I'm better then you Jenna…" Dulcie tried to back up, but one of Jenna's friends was right behind her. She shoved Dulcie forward again.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Jenna sneered. "I'm not done with you yet."

Jenna reached forward and ripped Dulcie's shirt, at the neck all the way to the waistband of her jeans. Dulcie tried desperately to cover herself while Jenna laughed.

"God you're such a fat-ass!" Jenna mocked while her friends roared with laughter.

Jenna punched Dulcie in the face suddenly. Dulcie felt pain explode from her jaw and travel down her neck. She reached out blindly and grabbed Jenna's arm to stop the next punch.

Then it happened.

Dulcie felt a strange feeling run through her arm. It was like a surge of power coming from her very core. Suddenly Jenna let out a horrible scream of agony. Then just as soon as the screaming began, it stopped. Jenna was on the ground and her friends were screaming to call 911.

…

By the time Dulcie was able to leave the police station it was almost 6 am. She had spent 2 hours being questioned before the medical diagnosis came in. Jenna was in a coma and they couldn't find any physical reason why. The doctor's said she went into extreme shock, as if she had a very painful injury, but she didn't have a scratch on her.

The police where forced to let her go. Even with two eyewitness accounts of her touch causing Jenna to be in obvious pain, there was no physical proof. Plus it didn't help that the two eyewitnesses where completely wasted.

Dulcie waited at the bus stop and tried to clear her head.

_What the hell happened? Did I really do that to Jenna? How? I mean it's not possible. _

"Miss are you getting on this bus or not?"

Dulcie looked up in shock and saw that the bus was at the stop and the driver was waiting for her to get on.

"Wha…oh. Yes, I am." Dulcie hurried up the bus steps and made her way to the back of the bus.

There we're only 2 other people on the bus: a sleeping man in a business suit and large, bald man sitting at the front of the bus. Dulcie noticed that he looked at her strangely when she walked by.

_He looked pretty creepy. _Dulcie shivered and sat as far away from him as possible.

Dulcie found a seat and collapsed into it. She hadn't realized just how tired she was. She closed her eyes and tried to make sense of everything.

_I felt that…power come from me. Did I…I think I did. But how? Can I do it again…whatever 'it' was. I didn't mean to hurt her. I couldn't control it…_

"Hello Dulcie." a kind, accented voice broke through her thoughts.

Dulcie's eyes flew open and she saw an older man sitting across from her. He was balding, but what hair he had left was white, as was his beard. His eye's had a sort of twinkle. He seemed, to Dulcie, like a grandpa.

"H-How did you know my name?" Dulcie stuttered.

The old man smiled at her shock.

"I know a lot about you Dulcie. For instance, I know that tonight you sent a girl, Jenna Smith, to the hospital."

Dulcie stared at him, she was pretty sure her mouth was hanging open and she looked like an idiot, but she didn't care.

"Are you a cop?" She asked.

The old man laughed and shook his head. "No, nothing like that. My name is Mr. Linderman and I work for a company. They know about people like you and we're here to help you. We want to show you what you're capable of, help you understand what's happening to you, and maybe even offer you a suitable employment. You have a lot of potential Dulcie."

"People… like me?" Dulcie's head was spinning. This night was getting weirder and weirder.

"I understand you'll want some time to think it over." Mr. Linderman stood up and straightened his jacket. He pulled the stop bell and the bus began to slow down. The doors opened and he stepped out and turned back to smile at her.

"WAIT!" Dulcie jumped up, "How will I contacted you."

Mr. Linderman chuckled and pointed to where he had been sitting. The doors closed and the bus rumbled to a start. Dulcie looked over at the now empty seat and saw there was a card on the seat. She picked it up and examined it.

"Pineherst?"

…

Maury Parkman stepped off the bus and flipped open his cell phone.

"Hello? Yea, it's me. I talked to the girl. Yea, trust me, she's in."

_-Three Months Ago-_

It had been a month since Dulcie had met on the bus. She had kept the Pineherst card in her pocket for two weeks before calling the number. She still wasn't convinced she had done the right thing. What did she know about these people? For all she knew she had walked into a trap. But anything was better then going back to school.

…

It started on the Monday after the party. Dulcie debated whether or not to go back, but in the end decided that she just couldn't miss the class time. In Philosophy class she had the strange feeling people were watching her, but every time she looked up she didn't catch any eyes on her. In fact no one had looked at her all day. Normally Dulcie would love the fact that no one was looking at her, she liked to fly under the radar, but this was different. They weren't looking at her, but they weren't ignoring her either.

They were afraid of her; afraid of the freak girl that put Jenna Smith into a comma. Conversations stopped when she entered a room, people purposefully avoided making eye contact, but they were watching her. Every moment she felt like she was under a microscope. This went on for five days before she couldn't take it anymore. Dulcie hated being in the spotlight, while everyone else was clamoring for fame and recognition, Dulcie preferred to stay anonymous.

So she dropped out of Collage, didn't even try to transfer to another one. The Dean didn't seem to broken up about it. He made sure not to sit to close, he avoided eye contact, and didn't make small talk. He was afraid of her too.

She didn't know where to go. She had a lot of options, her dad's house, her mother's house, her sister's, but what could she tell them? She just threw her life away.

Education was very important to her family. Her mother had gotten pregnant with her sister, well half-sister technically, when she was 15. She never got to go to collage and wanted her children to get the experiences she never did.

Dulcie's father, on the other hand, had gone to 9 years of schooling. He was a linguistics expert. He believed a good education was the most important thing you could get. If she told either of them that she had dropped out, they would be disappointed and ashamed, and her sister lived in the US and Dulcie didn't have a passport.

So she stayed at a motel. As long as she wasn't going to Collage, she might as well use the money to put a roof over her head, right? She liked for the first couple of days. It was nice to be by herself, to not be watched all the time, but as the days went on she couldn't ignore the part of her that wanted answers. What had happened that night? What was this company? Could they really help?

So she picked up the phone, and dialed the number on the business card. When a chipper sounding secretary answered the phone she realized she had no idea what to say, so she hung up. She stared at the phone for a few minutes before picking it up and dialing again.

"Hello, Pineherst corporation, how may I help you?"

"Um, hi. May I speak to please?"

…

Things moved pretty quickly after the phone call. She was flown to the States in a private, Pineherst jet and was given a room inside the company. When she arrived at the Company was there to show her to her to her room. She was given a company credit card and told to buy whatever she needed. Dulcie was very overwhelmed, so they left her alone for the first couple of days. On the third day though there was a knock on her door.

"Come in?" Dulcie wasn't used to visitors. They had pretty much left her alone so far. She went out everyday and bought food for the day, and everyday she returned to fresh bedclothes and towels. It was like living in a hotel. A very big, secretive, bioresearching hotel.

"Dulcie dear, how have you been settling in?" walked into the room and gave Dulcie a warm smile.

"I'm fine , thank you so much for all of this."

"It's our pleasure dear, is the room to your liking?"

"Oh, yes. It's lovely." That was a bit of a lie. Not that she didn't appreciate having her own room and bathroom, but it reminded her of a hospital room. White walls, standard bed, tacky waiting room loveseat.

"Well, thank you for lying. I'll see what I can do about getting you some proper furniture and some good DVDs."

"You really don't have to…" Dulcie gazed cautiously at the older man, every time they met it was like he knew what she was thinking.

"Nonsense, it's no problem!" Dulcie smiled gratefully at him. "Now, I'm afraid I didn't come for just a social visit. Dulcie, you've been here three days now. We gave you some time to adjust, wanted you to feel at home before we began, but now I think is a good time for you to get caught up about what we do here."

Dulcie nodded, she had been wondering when someone would explain what this place was.

"Dulcie, the company Pineherst is a widely respected biotech research corporation, but that isn't all we do. We help people like you. People who have abilities, who are special. We're working on a project now that will change the world, save it. You might even say we are going to cure the world of it's sicknesses. Greed, war, genocide, all of these things will be a thing of the past, and we want you, Dulcie, to help us. What do you say? Will you join us? We'll give you a place to live, support, money, anything you need. All we ask in return is that you do what's asked of you."

Dulcie sat there taking in all this information. She couldn't believe this was happening. It was all so surreal. She smiled.

"You know," she said "when I was little, I wanted to be a spy when I grew up. Work for a secret agency, go on missions."

"Well" said with a smile. "It looks like your dreams come true!"

The testing started that day. She had to get more shots then she was comfortable with, but she knew it would be worth it. After a lot of boring science tests, and fitness exams, took her to a lab where there where four men were waiting. Volunteers, for her to practice on she was told.

"What do you mean practice on? I don't even know what my power is!"

"You give the illusion of pain, my dear." explained. "You don't do any actual damage to the body, but every nerve in the person's body is telling their brain that something is wrong, so they feel pain."

"Is…is that how I put Jenna in the coma?" Dulcie whispered.

"Yes dear, but that was an accident." laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "This time I want you to try and control how much pain you're making the other person feel."

Dulcie tried for hours to make her power work, but nothing happened She couldn't get that same rush of power to happen. After the third hour of failure she gave up.

"My dear, don't get frustrated! We're so close, I can tell!"

"Look, ," Dulcie sighed, "you've been so nice to me, but what if this is all a mistake? I mean it's not working! Maybe I don't have a power after all."

Mr. Linderman stood thinking for a moment before a smile lit up his face.

"Maybe you just need the right motivation! Take a break dear. I'll be right back."

He walked out of the room and returned a few minutes later right behind another test subject.. The walked right up to where Dulcie was sitting. She looked up at him curiously.

He slapped her across the face. Hard.

She cried out in pain and in shock. He slapped her again. Dulcie grabbed his arm in fury and felt that same rush of power surge through her. This time she controlled it as he screamed out in agony. She let him hurt, but didn't give him so much pain that he'd pass out. She let go of his arm after a few seconds and he dropped to the ground, trying to catch his breath.

Dulcie looked up to see the horrified faces of the other volunteers and the pleased smile of .

"Well done Dulcie!" He cheered. "Now, you're training can begin!"

…

Dulcie worked hours at a time for days, learning how to control her power. Could she spread pain to only one part of the body? How much pain could she give? How little? Could she make someone feel pain without actually needing to touch them?

So here she was, a month from the day she first sent Jenna into a comma and met . It was the day that changed her life forever.

and the scientists that observed her were very happy with her progress. They even began to call her Poena; latin for pain. She had learned how to control the amount of pain she made people feel. She could make them feel anything from a small pain in their leg to an agonizing full body pain. She had almost killed one of the test subjects, and refused to try again for the rest of the day. tried to get her to practice on animals, but she refused. The idea of hurting a defenseless animal made her sick. At least the test subjects had a choice. Or, at least told her they did.

Dulcie was preparing for another day of training when walked into her room.

"Oh, hello ." Dulcie smiled at the man who had become like a grandfather to her.

"Dulcie dear, I think today you should meet someone else with an ability. What do you think?"

Dulcie jumped up off the bed and nodded her head.

"Yes! I would love to!" Dulcie had yet to meet anyone with abilities, in fact she didn't even know what kind of abilities others had.

"Well then, come with me, Daphne's due for a check-in"

lead the way to the elevators. They stood in silence as the elevator made it's slow decent. Dulcie had so many questions; she just didn't know what to ask first.

"You probably have a lot of questions." broke the silence "You can feel free to ask me some, and I'll answer as many as I can."

"Is she like me?" Dulcie blurted out. "I mean, I know she's like me, but I mean…does she make people feel pain too?"

chuckled. "No dear, you're the first pain-giver we're found."

"Pain-giver?"

"Yes dear, there is a scientific name, but if you're like me, you probably don't want to bother memorizing it." He gave her a smile and Dulcie nooded in agreement.

"So, if she's not a…a pain-giver, what is she?"

The elevator doors dinged open and she and stepped out.

"A speedster."

"Speedster? What's that?"

"You'll see! Now she's supposed to be here at 3, and she's never late. So you should get a move on. " stepped back into the elevator. "I'll leave you two to get acquainted. She's meeting you in front of the building. Give her the folders."

"Wait! You're not coming?" Dulcie looked around in confusion. "What folders?"

pointed to the reception desk and the smiled. The doors slid closed and Dulcie was left standing alone in the lobby.

She walked over to the reception desk. A small woman looked up at her expectantly.

"May I help you?"

"Um, hi. I'm Dulcie Miller. Do you have some folders for me?"

"Oh Dulcie! Right, these were left here for you! Have a nice day, come back if you need anything else."

The woman handed Dulcie three folders and turned back to her computer. Dulcie stood there for a moment before looking at the digital clock on the woman's desk. 2:58. She didn't want to be late meeting Daphne. She just hoped she'd know how to spot her.

Dulcie made her way her way to the entrance of the building. She kept a lookout for anyone who looked like they could be Dulcie, but there was only a gardener, a handful of people making their way into the building, and a window washer a few levels up.

_How am I suppose to tell who this Daphne person is if I d-_

Suddenly there was a fury of movement and Dulcie felt a strong wind hit her. Suddenly there was a woman standing right next to her. She had white hair, and was carrying a messenger bag.

Dulcie let out a yelp and fell back.

"Jeeze, calm down wouldja?" the white-haired woman offered Dulcie a hand.

Dulcie stared at the woman for a moment before accepting the help. Once she was on her feet she picked up the folders and straightened her shirt. She looked at the woman curiously.

"Daphne?" she asked.

"Well duh!" Daphne looked her up and down. "and you are?"

"Dulcie!" She replied. "How did you…how did you do that?"

"I'm a speedster!" Daphne replied.

"But what does that mean?" Dulcie was confused.

Daphne smiled. "I'll show you"

Suddenly Dulcie felt the wind hit her again as Daphne sped away, did a few loops of the courtyard, and came back. It all happened in a fraction of a second. Dulcie stood there with her mouth open.

"Oh my GOD!" Dulcie said "That's amazing!"

"I know." Daphne said with a grin. "What's your super power?"

"I make people feel pain."

There was a pause, as Daphne looked her up and down.

"Really? You don't seem like the type."

Dulcie grinned. "So I don't seem like the type of person who can make people feel agonizing pain with only their mind? Where you expecting some evil looking dude twirling his moustache?"

Daphne smiled. "Yea, I guess you're right. So do you have my new jobs?"

"Huh?" Dulcie looked down at the folders in her hands. "Oh! You mean these. Yea, here you go!"

She handed Daphne the folders and watched as she flipped nonchalantly flipped through the pages. Daphne nodded at Dulcie and tucked the folders into her bag.

"Well, nice to meet you Dulcie."

"Yea, nice to meet you t-" Dulcie was cut off as a gust of wind hit her face and Daphne left just as abruptly as she arrived.

Dulcie stared in shock at where the speedster had stood just a second before.

"Wow."

_-Two Months Ago-_

"Dulcie, I think it's time you met ."

Dulcie looked up from the book she was reading to see standing in front of her.

"Who's ?" she had never heard the name before.

"He's the head of this company, you would have met him sooner, but he's not well. He hasn't been for quite some time now, but he's heard of your progress and he's very impressed, as we all are." beamed down at Dulcie and she felt a blush creep into her cheeks.

"Thank you, I'm still having trouble with distance. I can only project a few feet. I'm working on it though!"

Dulcie had finally been able to make one of the subjects feel pain without making physical contact. It was a lot harder, because she had to really concentrate on focusing all her energy, but it was getting easier and easier.

"I know dear, you've worked very hard. Now, are you ready to meet ?"

Dulcie nodded and lead her to the elevator and handed her a keypass card.

"Go to level 7 and a doctor will meet you there and lead you to 's room."

Dulcie had gotten used to the fact that never seemed accompany her anywhere. In fact she'd almost never seen him around anyone else at the company. She took the card, gave him a nervous smile and stepped into the elevator. She was a nervous wreck the whole elevator ride up. She was horrible with people, she almost always made a bad first impression. She came off as standoffish and bored. Was it her fault if she couldn't think of anything to say?

The elevator doors opened and there was a doctor waiting there for her, just like said. She gave him a polite smile followed him down the hallway to a hospital room. The doctors unlocked the door and stepped aside to allow Dulcie in. She hesitated for a moment before stepping through the door to the dimly lit room.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the sudden change from the bright florescence lights in the hallways. When she could see she saw a large wooden bed with many machines surrounding it, flashing various lights and monitoring different systems, but the most terrifying was the man lying in the bed. she assumed. He was clearly paralyzed. He laid perfectly still, but he looked anything but weak. Dulcie felt afraid as she looked into his eyes. They seemed cold, hard and in command. She felt the need to run, but was cemented in place.

_Hello Dulcie, I've been waiting to meet you._

A strange man's voice filled Dulcie's head. She gasped and looked around the room in confusion. Where had that voice come from? It was as if it were in her mind. But that wasn't possible, was it?

_Yes Dulcie, I am in your head, and you should know there's no reason to be afraid. Or should I call you Poena? I hear that's your nick name now._

Dulcie looked at in fascination. He was in her head. It was terrifying and mesmerizing at the same time.

"How are you doing this?" Dulcie asked. "Is it your power?"

_It's one of my powers. I can take powers away from others and keep them as my own._

"Are you going to take my power?" Dulcie wasn't sure how she should feel. Relieved? She was just getting used to her power. It felt like a part of her identity now.

_No, I think you'll be more useful to me if you still have your power. You're proving to be a very valuable asset in this company's plans. _

"Thank you sir."

_I think soon you'll be ready to take on your first assignment. _

"What kind of assignment?" Dulcie was grateful for everything Pinehearst had done for her, but what kind of 'assignment' would they want her to do. With her powers, she had a good idea of what they'd want her to do.

_Don't worry about that right now, when the time comes you'll know what you have to do. For now I just need you to keep working and be ready._

Dulcie nodded. "I'll be ready."

_ Good. These next few weeks are crucial Dulcie. People like us, people who are special, we're going to change everything._

_-One Month Ago-_

Dulcie'e training had been increased to the point where she would barely be able to stand at the end of each session. It was worth it though. She could control her power completely now; making someone feel anything from a slight stabbing pain to complete agonizing pain. She could also use her power on someone 20 feet away, and each day she felt herself strengthening.

She was ready to fight. The only problem was she didn't know who or what she was suppose to be fighting. Mr. Linderman never seemed to give her a straight answer.

"Dulcie, there are others like us that, even if unintentionally, are hurting our cause. We want to save the world, but they don't agree with our methods. They have stopped us once, but they wont succeed again." Mr. Linderman smile, placing his hand on her sholder. "You'll see in time my dear."

Dulcie smiled and nodded, trying to act convinced, but she wasn't. She felt guilty for feeling suspicious after they had giver her so much, but now that she'd been in this building a while she was starting to realize that she didn't have any idea what this company did. She'd just assumed they we're the good guys, but lately she's d been wondering if that was true.

_-A week ago-_

Dulcie stared at the plain white ceiling in her room. With a sigh she closed her eyes and let her mind wander. She hadn't seen in a few days, and her training had been cancelled for this afternoon. Something big was happening, but no one said what.

_What aren't they telling me? _Dulcie wondered. _ I wonder wha-_

"You needn't wonder anymore Poena."

Dulcie's eyes flew open and she gasped at what she saw. It was Mr. Petretlli. Standing in her doorway.

" B-but.. how? Wha…?" Dulcie stammered.

With a smirk Mr. Petretlli walked over the chair near her bed and sat down. "I got a little help from a healer and now that I'm better our plan will begin. Dulcie, in a few days everything whenmy son gets here everything will fall into place."

'…Your son?"

_-Earlier that day-_

Dulcie and Knox where hanging out in her room. They had met a few days before. It was still awkward to talk to him, but he was the only other person besides Daphne she knew that also worked for the company.

"So…" Dulcie looked at Knox trying to think of something, anything, to say. "Have you worked with too? I haven't seen him in a while, Mr. Petretlli said he was working with Daphne."

Knox looked up in surprise. "? Dulcie that dude died MONTHS ago. You must be confused."

"WHAT? No! I trained with Mr. Linderman."

"What…. When you were with Mr. Linderman did he ever talk to anyone else? Did you ever make physical contact with him?"

Dulcie thought back. "Well, I…" Dulcie thought hard, but could never remember actually touching Mr. Linderman. And he never talked to anyone else. Ever. What did it mean?

"No… neither of those things. What…?" Dulcie looked at Knox for answers.

"You were talking to Maury. He's a mind reader. Well he does more then that I guess . He can put stuff in your mind. When they first recruited me they had him appear as my probation officer. I guess people liked Mr. Linderman." Knox shrugged.

Dulcie couldn't believe it. The man she'd grown close to all these months, her savior, was some creepy mind projection. The man he was based on dead.

"What kind of company are we working for?" She sighed.

…

"Crap! Crap crap crap!" Dulcie ran down the halls to Mr. Petretlli's office. How could she be late for her first official meeting?

After learning about Maury, Dulcie had been so confused and stressed. She didn't know what was real anymore. Part of her wished she was back home. She just sat down on the bed for what felt like a second, but the next thing she knew she was waking up and she was late.

She finally made it to Arthur's office. She could hear an unfamiliar voice inside. She opened the door and saw the back of a dark haired man she'd never met before. 's son she presumed. He was leaning in to hug Mr. Petretlli. Dulcie saw a flash in Mr. Petretlli's eyes and she knew he was about to take his son's powers. Before she could stop herself she gasped.


End file.
